This year's theme was 'The Big Five - lead us to the future'. The Big Five refers to five themes from the portfolio survey and which guide FSW in renewing and future-proofing its educational programmes.
The Education Festival in De Veranda was presented with infectious enthusiasm by Laurens Zwaagstra (student assessor faculty board) and Sylvia Vink (education director). Introducing the theme were Peter Kerkhof and Maaike Kes, who told about new developments in education. Maaike (in a whisper): "I am not supposed to say this, but every student has used AI. It's important to know how to implement it."
Engaging keynote on Placemaking
The FSS Education Festival continued with an interesting keynote speech by Nova Linde Bergsma, Rosanna van Wieringen and Katusha Sol from Institute for interdisciplinary studies at the University of Amsterdam, the first prize winner of the Higher Education Premium. The presentation was about Placemaking: an ongoing project in which students, teachers and local stakeholders develop and implement ideas to improve the UvA campus. The students then transfer their knowledge and experience to local stakeholders and new batch of students.
This approach is highly motivating: through these experiences, students develop essential competences such as cooperation and co-creation, creative thinking and problem and conflict resolution. Nova Linde told how the programme had increased her perseverance and self-reliance, and how she had grown both personally and professionally.
Workshops
Then it was time for the workshops. The faculty offered a series of engaging workshops for teachers looking to innovate and strengthen their teaching practices.
For example, in the workshop Overcoming the Obstacles to Successful Gamification, Pieter Wagenaar shared practical tips and strategies to effectively apply gamification in teaching, and during the workshop Make Your Course More Transdisciplinary, Nienke Stumpel discussed how courses can be made transdisciplinary, integrating different subject areas. Sharon Calor and her team of students explored the benefits and challenges of blended learning, combining traditional and digital teaching methods for an optimal learning experience.
In the workshop Pleasure and Pitfalls: A Masters Programme with Collaboration of Four Faculties, Marc Bruijnzeels and Marlin Leemhuis discussed the creation and implementation of the Population Health Management master's programme, in which four faculties work together. They highlighted the need for interdisciplinary and transformational education to address societal challenges in healthcare. Led by Giulia Ranzini, the workshop Reimagining Testing: Flexible Assessment as a Key to Resilience discussed innovative approaches to flexible testing, with a view to increasing the resilience and adaptability of both teachers and students.
Other developments in education were discussed in the workshop Develop Your Students' Communication Skills with AI-Powered Avatars, where Esther Schagen and her team showed how AI-powered avatars can be used to improve students' communication skills, with interactive and personalised learning experiences. Arend Jan Pleizier and Frank Huizing, in the workshop Developing Flexible and Modular Curricula Across Organisational (and Mental) Boundaries, discussed the development of flexible and modular curricula that transcend organisational and mental boundaries, with the aim of promoting adaptive and future-proof learning environments.
In their workshop, Joram Pach and his students offered a taste of transdisciplinary education, integrating different disciplines to approach complex problems holistically. Miriam van Strien discussed the power of technology in the classroom and how it can be used to future-proof education.
And there was also an exciting workshop that challenged participants to step outside their comfort zone and explore new teaching methods: The Mystery Workshop: Everything You Always Wanted to Do, but Never Dared to Ask!
The workshops offered teachers the chance to gain new insights and learn innovative teaching techniques that can transform their lessons. Don't miss this opportunity next year to improve and enrich your teaching practices!
FSS Education Awards
After the workshops, it was time for the FSS Education Awards ceremony! Every year, FSS looks for students who inspire other students, are innovative and are role models. This year, the FSS StudenTalent prize went to Lindsey Kappelhof. The award was presented by Gregor Halff, the dean of our faculty. John Hogan was awarded the FSS TeacherTalent prize 2024. The award was presented by Nanook Deerenberg of the FSR.
The inspiring afternoon ended with a nice drink, dinner and live music by The Maestros!